Chester's Rondae Jefferson goes up for a shot around Eric Mika of Lone Peak in the City of Palms quarterfinal game Thursday at Bishop Verot High School in Fort Myers. / AMANDA INSCORE/THE NEWS-PRESS

Chester's Khalil Williams guards Lone Peak's Talon Shumway as he goes up for a layup in the City of Palms quarterfinal game on Thursday at Bishop Verot High School in Fort Myers. / AMANDA INSCORE/THE NEWS-PRESS

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It’s difficult to suggest a high school basketball team ranked in the top 8 by every major national media outlet is underrated.

But Highland (Utah) Lone Peak guard Nick Emery said he’s aware of the whispers about his team.

“Haven’t played anybody.”

“Can shoot but that’s it.”

“C’mon, they’re from Utah!”

Emery and the rest of the Knights silenced any remaining doubters Thursday, routing Chester 73-50 in a City of Palms Classic quarterfinal, ending the Clippers’ 61-game winning streak.

“It motivates us for sure,” said Emery, who scored 23 points, 16 in the second half. “We wanted to make a statement and just play Lone Peak ball.”

The Clippers grabbed a 2-0 on a transition layup by senior guard James Kirksey. It proved to be their only lead of the game and one of a handful of easy baskets.

Junior guard T.J. Haws, one of four BYU commits for Lone Peak, hit three 3-pointers in the opening quarter, including one as time expired to propel the Knights to a 17-8 advantage.

Defensively, Lone Peak focused on its attention on 6-foot-7 guard Rondae Jefferson, an Arizona commit. Jefferson finished with a team-high 19 points and 10 rebounds, but received little help from his teammates, who combined to make just 14 of their 46 field goal tries.

“He’s a darn good player,” Knights coach Quincy Lewis said of Jefferson. “We knew we had to know where he was, whether we were playing man or zone.”

Lone Peak effectively wrapped up the game in the third quarter, behind Emery, who poured in 10 points in the opening three minutes, putting the Knights up by 20. Chester never got any closer the rest of the way.

“Honestly, he’s a big league guy,” Lewis said of Emery, also a BYU commit. “He could play anywhere in the country. He likes a challenge.”

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For Chester, two-time defending Pennsylvania AAAA state champions, the loss left them seven games short of tying the all-time state record of 68, set by West Philadelphia High between 1976-78. It also left Jefferson and the rest of his teammates searching for words to describe its end.

“We aren’t used to losing so I can’t really explain it,” he said. “I don’t think we played together as a team. They had their runs and we lost focus of what we were doing.

The Clippers didn’t emerge from their locker room for more than 30 minutes following the loss.

“In the locker room we let our coaches talk to us and let us know we have to get back our fire,” Jefferson said. “Tonight we’ll talk as a team and as a captain I’m going to let my guys know what we need to do to bounce back.”

Chester won’t have to wait very long to get another shot at Lone Peak. The two will square off in a rematch at the Brandon Jennings Invitational in Milwaukee, Wisc. on Jan. 12.

“I’m looking forward to coming back and playing these guys,” Jefferson said. “Give them some of that fire.”